High rates of delinquency and of teenage motherhood in a community have been found to be associated with conditions that characterize the underclass. Furthermore, the concentration of these youth behaviors in such communities are assumed to play an important role in the reproduction of the underclass. Using census, health, and juvenile court data…

This document is a Congressional report about a proposed amendment to the Public Health Service Act to provide for a program to carry out research on the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES), to educate health professionals and the public on the drug, and to provide for certain longitudinal studies regarding DES. The amendment itself is presented in the…

This document contains the second in a series of Congressional hearings being held by the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families to examine substance abuse among pregnant and parenting women and to explore prevention and treatment strategies. In his opening statement, Committee Chairman George Miller expresses hope that testimony…

Research on decision making in pregnant adolescents is in its infancy. Most has focused on correlates of the various pregnancy outcomes such as abortion, delivery, parenting one's child, or relinquishing the child for adoption. There is a need to investigate the process of decision making with pregnant adolescents in light of a theory of decision…

Proceedings of a conference on adolescent pregnancy are presented in this document. Eunice Kennedy Shriver's opening address, in which she urged the building of "communities of caring" is summarized, as is the address by Gina C. Adams who discussed recent findings on the topic of adolescent pregnancy. Several programs developed to…

The growing concern in recent years about apparent increases in adolescent pregnancies has given rise to a proliferate but fragmented literature. Reviewing this literature from several disciplinary perspectives, the author concludes that it is unable to support diagnosis or intervention because it lacks an adequate theoretical and empirical base.…

Data from 1976 New Hampshire birth certificates were used to examine the correlations between the degree (month of pregnancy that prenatal care began) and intensity (number of prenatal visits) of prenatal care and low infant birth weight, illegitimacy, maternal age, maternal education, and complications of pregnancy. The rate of low birth weight…

The author cites research findings which link alcoholism in pregnant women to abnormalities of the central nervous system and mental retardation in offspring. (CL)

Used maternal-infant bonding as theoretical framework to examine grief and elective abortion in 80 women who terminated their pregnancies either by vacuum aspiration, dilitation and evacuation, or intrauterine induction. Found grief associated with elective abortion to be symptomatically similar to grief experienced following involuntary…

Findings from empirical research differ greatly from the Supreme Court's assumptions about psychological factors in adolescent abortion. Psychologists should preserve adolescent clients' privacy in counseling about pregnancy-related decisions. Government should encourage counseling services for pregnant adolescents and research on psychological…

New adolescent patients (N=150) at a large urban clinic were interviewed to determine what events or advice led to their decision to approach a family planning clinic for the first time. The roles of pregnancy scares, advice from significant others, and situational factors in motivating service use are presented. Program implications of these…

Recognizes concern that today's adolescents, including early adolescents, may be making important life choices such as parenthood before they are developmentally ready for such roles. Deals with pregnancy in adolescents and modes of responding to this phenomenon by those in the counseling and other helping professions. (Author/NRB)

Assessed public attitude toward, and awareness of possible problems and risks associated with, the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Results indicated a high awareness of the problem, knowledge of the specific effects to the offspring, and of quantities and frequency of consumption of alcohol which would have teratogenic effects were…

Describes a model program to address the problems of pregnant teens. Services include education, health care assistance, economic self-support assistance, prevention of child abuse, family preservation, coordination of helping programs, and counseling on options. (CH)